


A Little Help From Death

by Elea_Evans



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Hogwarts Era, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-13
Packaged: 2020-01-01 09:15:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18333074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elea_Evans/pseuds/Elea_Evans
Summary: After the war is lost against Voldemort, Daphne serves as a spy in Voldemort's order. But after she is discovered and killed, Death gives her a choice. She can walk through the door and be with her friends who died during the war, or she can go back in time and try to save them. And really, when you put it like that, what kind of choice does she have? Daphne chooses to go back in time to try and save the wizarding world from Voldemort, but struggles with her memories of a time that has now never happened.





	1. The Final Battle

Daphne sprinted down the hall towards the makeshift hospital room. She wished that she could be openly fighting the Death Eaters with her friends. Watching her friends come back from battle bloody and dying was beginning to take a toll on her, but she had to keep her cover. If worse came to worst, it was up to her to get as many people to safety as possible. She would fake her loyalty to Voldemort and use the connections she had made over the past five years of the war to smuggle people out of the country. They would never be able to come back to the UK, but it was better than them being dead. This was something that she and Harry had talked about privately. Most of the fighters refused to believe that there was any other outcome besides victory, it was the only way they could keep themselves fighting. But Harry and Daphne knew better. There was a very slim chance that the resistance, made up mostly of school children, would be able to defeat Voldemort and his followers. That didn’t mean they weren’t going to try, but they were going to make sure they had a contingency plan in place. Daphne agreed with the majority of the plan she and Potter had come up with, but her heart filled with dread whenever she thought of her last conversation with Harry.  
“Hey, Daph, can I talk to you for a sec” Harry asked motioning towards the door. Daphne excused herself from the conversation and followed Harry out into the hall.  
“What’s up, Potter?” She asked, quirking an eyebrow. “I was just talking to Weasley about defense positions.”  
Harry glanced around the hall and then pulled her into and empty room. Once inside he cast as many privacy charms as he could think of before finally turning to face Daphne. “Harry, what’s going on? You’re worrying me.” Daphne said softly. “Did you hear some bad news?”  
Harry shook his head before answering. “No, I haven’t heard anything new, I need to talk to you about the contingency plan.” He explained.  
“What about it? I thought we had figured it all out.” Daphne replied curiously. “Have I been found out or something?” Harry shook his head again.  
“I need to ask you a favor.” He said softly, “And you have to promise not to tell anyone.” He hastily added. Daphne motioned for him to continue. “We know that a lot of the fighters will be pardoned by Voldemort if he wins and most of those who aren’t will be put in some sort of prison for a few years. He’ll try to kill the muggle borns and maybe some half-bloods, but we’ve already figured out an evacuation plan. But,” Harry hesitated and his face took on a pained expression. “the people closest to me won’t be pardoned or simply thrown in jail. The majority of the Weasley family will be killed immediately, but Ron-“ Harry cut himself off. He took a moment to collect himself before continuing. “Ron and Hermione will be tortured.” He said bluntly. “You and I both know it. They’ll be used as sick toys for Voldemort’s amusement, and he’ll only kill them when they’re so broken that they no longer have any value.” Harry looked imploringly at Daphne. “I don’t want that to happen to my best friends. I can’t let that happen!” He said emphatically.  
“Okay,” Daphne said after a moment. “so I’ll smuggle them to safety like we planned for the others.”  
Harry shook his head. “Voldemort won’t stop until he finds them. I don’t want to put the others at risk because he’s searching for them.”  
Daphne looked at Harry, her mind was reeling trying to figure out what he was getting at. The only conclusion she could come to was so ludicrous that she didn’t even let the thought fully form. “Okay, so what do you want me to do?” She asked hesitantly.  
Harry looked her straight in the eyes and said the words that had haunted her ever since. “I want you to kill Ron and Hermione.”  
“What? Absolutely not! Harry, you cannot ask me to do something like that. You can’t turn me into a murderer!” Daphne practically begged.  
“It’s not like I’m thrilled with it either Daph!” Harry yelled, his emotions finally getting the better of him. “But what other choice is there? If you can come up with one I’d be fucking thrilled to hear it! But I’ve been thinking about this for ages and I can’t see any other way.” Harry choked out. “I don’t want my friends to die, but I don’t want them to get tortured to insanity by Voldemort either. This way they get a clean painless death. If that’s the only gift I can give them, then so be it!” Daphne stared at Harry for a long time. Her mind was sifting through all of the information, trying to find another solution, but continuously came up blank. Finally she spoke.  
“Why me? Why does it have to be me?” She asked him softly.  
“If you do it on the battle field it will solidify our story that you were never on our side. Plus,” Harry shrugged, “you’re really the only one I know who I trust enough and would be able to do it. I’ve seen how you function, and I know that you can somewhat separate your emotions from your actions in times of crisis. I need you to do this, promise me.” Harry demanded.  
“Fine.” She whispered. “Fine, I’ll do it, but I hate you for it. I hate you for making me promise you this.”  
“Thank you.”  
Daphne shook her head to clear away the memory. “It’s not going to come to that.” She told herself sternly. “It can’t come to that.” But no matter how often she repeated this to herself, she never truly believed it. Their forces were waning and Voldemort was getting stronger every day as people faced with the possibility of death joined his ranks. Yesterday they had sent a group out on a mission and they had just returned. From what Daphne had heard most of them were dead and those who had survived were barely clinging on. They would be lucky if even three of them survived.  
She burst into the hospital room and quickly began working on the first patient. It was Dean Thomas but he was barely recognizable. His left arm was hanging on by a single sinew and he was extremely pale from the blood loss. His left leg looked practically shattered and his veins were becoming darker and darker. His face was covered in blood and he was missing an eye the Daphne was fairly certain he hadn’t been missing when he left for the mission. Although everyone had incurred so many injured lately that it was hard to keep track. Daphne was about to cast a charm to slow the flow of blood when she realized that it had already stopped. Curious she inspected the arm and was nearly sick from what she saw. Dean’s blood was thickening and congealing into a black sludge. “I need a blood thinning potion!” She yelled desperately. She felt for Dean’s pulse and could barely feel anything. The thick blood was blocking his arteries and his heart was slowing down. Someone shoved a vile into her hands and she quickly poured it down Dean’s throat, praying against all odds that it would take effect before Dean died. She waited anxiously, staring at his arm where blood should be flowing freely, after a few minutes later she saw a drop of blood fall to the floor and sighed in relief. She turned to look at Dean and felt her stomach drop. He wasn’t breathing. She quickly reached out to check his pulse, and felt nothing. Daphne’s eyes glazed over with unshed tears and she watched as Dean’s blood thinned out and began to flow freely too late. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths before gently closing Dean’s eyes and walking away to the next patient. Harry was right, she could block out her emotions when she needed to, and right now grieving for Dean would do nothing. There were other people who needed her help.  
Hours later Daphne fell down completely exhausted. Out of the seven who had come back only three had survived, and Justin still might not make it. Daphne wanted nothing more than to drown her sorrows in a bottle of fire whiskey, but she knew that would be unwise. If the enemy struck she had to be able to fight. So instead of drinking she went to go find Harry. Despite everything going on and what he had made her promise, she still found his presence calming. Surprisingly, they were the most similar out of the resistance. A fact Daphne would have never believed five years ago. They put on a brave face in front of everyone else, but they were both willing to realize the futileness of fighting. When she was around Potter she didn’t have to fake it, she could be unapologetically pessimistic.  
She found Harry pouring over maps of Hogwarts and its grounds for the millionth time. She wasn’t really sure what he was hoping to find, but she understood the need to feel like you were doing something that would make a difference. “Hey,” She said softly as she entered the room. Thankfully the room was deserted; Granger and Weasley must have been off working on some project.  
“Oh, hey. How’s everyone doing?” Harry asked, looking up from the maps.  
Daphne looked at Harry sadly. He had changed over the years of the war. He had built up some muscle, but he remained extremely skinny, which cause his tendons to be clearly visible through his skin. His face was hard and his mouth always permanently set in a grim line. “Only seven out of the sixteen came back, and only three survived. Justin is barely hanging on. I don’t really expect him to make it through the night.” Daphne reported.  
Harry nodded his head gravely as if he had predicted this. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace. “This is for you.” He told Daphne. “It’s tied to my life force, so when I die it’ll turn cold. You’ll know before most people so you’ll have time to … y’know.” Harry finished. He couldn’t bring himself to say their names. When this war started he never would have imagined that he would ask someone to kill his best friends. Yet here he was, and he felt some sort of relief that when he died his best friends wouldn’t be tortured. If there was any sort of afterlife he’d explain it to them, try to make them understand why he had made that decision. He wasn’t really sure they’d understand, and maybe he was being selfish. Maybe Ron and Hermione would rather life a tortured life than die, but Harry just couldn’t let that happen. Over the course of the war he had realized that dying for him was not the worst fate possible for those closest to him.  
Daphne nodded solemnly and took the offered necklace but didn’t reply. “Dean didn’t make it.” She told Harry bluntly. She appreciated that she didn’t have to sugarcoat things, tact got exhausting after a while. “Harry, I don’t know much longer we’re going to hold out for. If we’re going to have any chance in this at all we’re going to have to initiate the last battle sooner rather than later. Victor just did a head count, and it’s not good.” Victor and Daphne had started seeing each other during the first year of the war. It was difficult to have a meaningful relationship during war, but the two of them managed. Whenever they had time they would sneak off together. Most of the time they just sat together in silence, taking comfort from the others presence. After bad battles they would take solace together and attempt to block out the horrors while they made love. Since Ginny’s death Daphne had ben careful about not flashing her and Victor’s relationship, especially in front of Harry.  
“But we don’t have a solid plan yet.” Harry argued. “I don’t want to start something without a solid plan in place. I’m not prepared to lose people just because I was rash and unprepared! Not again.”  
“Harry,” Daphne cut in. “You and I both know that we’re never going to have a solid plan.” She looked at him sadly and sat down next to him. “We’re never going to be ready despite what we tell everyone else. And if we wait much longer there won’t be enough people left to fight in whatever plan we do come up with. Our only hope is to strike soon and just…pray.”  
“I know.” Harry admitted. “I just… I just wish…” He trailed off.  
“I know.” Daphne replied. “I know.”  
Harry and Daphne sat together in silence for almost an hour contemplating the inevitable battle and everything they had already lost. Susan Bones had died early on; she was targeted right away because of her aunt and had taken a bludgeoning curse to the chest. Lupin had died protecting a muggle village from Greyback. Countless others had followed; they were losing people every week. Ginny had been killed almost three months ago now. They had been given intelligence that Bellatrix and some of Voldemort’s inner circle were going to be in Wigtown and Ginny had volunteered immediately. Harry had been busy in Ballycastle at the time, but Daphne had seen everything.  
A group of 17 of the resistance apparated just outside of Wigtown, they split up into their groups and moved silently towards the town. Any advantage they could get they were going to take, and after months of this war they were not above shooting someone in the back. Codes of honor had fallen away and left only the burning desire to remain alive. Daphne was in Ginny’s group. Normally she wouldn’t be out on a hunt, but they were short handed and they had had little choice. Daphne had taken polyjuice potion to hide her appearance, and she hoped that the skirmish wouldn’t take too long.  
It didn’t take them long to find the group of Death Eaters. Daphne wasn’t sure who fired the first curse, but soon after the Death Eaters found them and retaliated. The night sky became illuminated with the lights from spells and curses. Daphne found herself battling Nott. It was strange to be fighting someone whose house she had been invited over to annually. When she was younger she had been quite good friends with Theo.  
Daphne attempted to keep an eye on Ginny while battling Nott. She and Ginny had become close friends over the years of the war and she felt a protective urge towards her similar to the one she had for Astoria. She noticed that Weasley was fighting Bellatrix and felt her heart stop. Ginny had improved greatly over the past few months, and she was honestly one of the best student fighters in the resistance, but Bellatrix was experienced and crazy. Ginny was using the surroundings to her advantage, ducking behind rocks for cover and darting behind trees. Daphne felled Nott and turned to help Ginny but was intercepted by Rockwood. Daphne cursed but turned her attention to the Death Eater in front of her. She wanted to finish this quickly so she could help Ginny. It was more difficult for Daphne to keep an eye on Ginny now that she was fighting Rockwood. He was almost as experienced as Bellatrix and had a repertoire of nasty curses. Through the corner of her eye Daphne saw Ginny cast a severing charm at Bellatrix and watched in amazement as the spell hit its mark and sliced through Bellatrix’s chest. Bellatrix crumpled to the ground. Ginny’s eyes grew wide in surprise and she turned to smile at Daphne in victory. Before Daphne could smile back a sickly green spell hit Ginny in the back and she fell to the ground, dead.  
Daphne had been the one who told Harry about Ginny’s death when they were all finally back together. They had all witnessed horrors before, but that was the only time Daphne saw Harry look defeated. Ginny was hardly the last casualty of war, but she was the one that had had the greatest impact on Harry. Daphne had made sure to return Ginny’s body so she could have a proper funeral. They had buried her in the graveyard at Hogwarts, next to all of the other casualties of war. A simple tombstone marked her place, no different than all of the others. They didn’t have time to give her a special grave. Daphne had promised Harry that if she survived she would make sure the grave was looked after.  
Eventually Harry spoke up. “Three days. We’ll lure them here in three days.” Harry decided.  
Daphne pushed herself off of the couch and stood up. “Okay, I’ll go let everyone know.” She looked down at the necklace in her hand and turned back towards Harry. “Could you help me put it on?” She asked. “I just don’t want anyone asking questions about it.”  
“Oh, yeah, of course.” Harry answered. He got up from the couch and clasped the necklace closed. “You can hide it under your shirt so it doesn’t show.”  
“Thanks, Potter. I’ll inform the troops.” Daphne tried to smile but didn’t quite manage it. Part of her hoped Victor died before she had to kill Ron and Hermione, she wasn’t sure she could live with herself if he found out. But then again she wasn’t sure she could live if he died either.  
Three days later everyone was ready for battle. Snape had fed Voldemort a lie that Harry and most of the resistance had left the castle on a mission and that Hogwarts was practically left defenseless. Voldemort had taken the bait and was preparing his troops to attack the castle. Even though he believed Hogwarts to be defenseless, he brought most of his army so that they could all share in the victory. They all knew that as soon as Voldemort arrived and found that Hogwarts was very much not defenseless, he would put two and two together and kill Snape. It was a sacrifice Severus was willing to make, after all these years of lying he seemed almost relieved to know it would all soon be over. Part of Daphne felt envious.  
Daphne waited anxiously in the hospital wing for the battle to start, as always she wished more than anything that she could be part of the fight, but she knew her place. Many people had asked her why she was still refusing to fight; they didn’t see the point in her hiding anymore. Seamus had argued that they would either fight and win or fight and die. Daphne had countered saying that after spending so much time in the hospital wing she was one of the best healers they had, and regardless of how the battle went, they would need good healers. That seemed to satisfy everyone and Harry and Daphne had shared a secret glance. Soon Harry and those who would be fighting left to take up their positions.  
Daphne knew the moment the battle began; she could feel the slight lean on the wards as the army of Death Eaters descended on the castle. Within minutes fighters were using their hospital emergency portkeys and arriving in varying states of health. Some needed a simple blood-clotting potion and immediately went back to battle, while others required more intensive care. The room was a flurry of motion and blood, but Daphne was always conscious of the heat emanating from her necklace, as long as it stayed warm she still had hope and she could keep on fighting.  
“I need skelegrow!” Daphne yelled as she helped Pavarti Patil to a bed. Pavarti’s leg had been shattered and Daphne knew she would have to get rid of all of the bones and regrow them. A vial was shoved in her hand and she quickly set to work. Daphne shut out the pained screams of her friends and the sad sighs of other healers when they lost someone. She couldn’t afford to be emotional; she had to be clinical and cold in order to survive this. As she turned to her next patient she felt her control slip away.  
Severus lay on the bed, his face paler than normal and blood leaking from a snakebite in his neck. Daphne held his hand in hers comfortingly and inspected the wound.  
“It’s…okay.” Severus rasped. “I know…” Daphne locked eyes with him sadly. They both knew there was nothing she could do. The poison was spreading too quickly; he would be dead within minutes.  
“I’m sorry.” Daphne whispered. “Sev, I- you’ve done so much for us, sacrificed so much. I’ll stay with you.” She promised him. “Until the very end.” Snape attempted a sad smile, but was unable to make his muscles work the way he wished. “It’ll all be over soon.” Daphne promised him softly. “All this pain and suffering. You’ll get to see Lily again, and she’ll thank you for looking after her son. All of your old friends will welcome you as a hero, because you are Sev. You may not have started out like one, but you became a hero. You turned selfishness into selflessness and I don’t think I’ve ever met a braver man. Truly. It’ll be great it-“ Daphne stopped talking as she felt Snape’s hand go limp in hers. “Sev?” She asked hopefully? “Severus? Please don’t be dead-please! Come back, I need you. I…I’m not strong enough, I can’t do this.” She cried quietly. “I can’t-“  
“Daphne!” Luna shouted. “we need you!” Daphne glanced mournfully at Severus one more time before pulling herself together.  
“What do you need?” She asked, hurrying over to Luna. For the next few hours Daphne soldiered on, healing people as quickly as possible, and never stopping to mourn when they lost someone. 

Harry raced through the grounds, cutting down Death Eaters in his way. He had to get to Voldemort; it was the only way to end this war. Harry finally saw him in the crowd and rushed towards him. “Tom!” He called out. Voldemort turned to face him and sneered in his direction.  
“Come to die, have you Potter?” He mocked. “Are you finally tired of seeing your friends die in your war?”  
“Only one of us will die tonight, Tom, and it’s not going to be me! Reducto!” Harry shouted, firing the spell. Voldemort quickly erected a shield and blocked the spell. Soon Harry and Voldemort were locked in a deadly dance. None of the Death Eaters dared interfere with this battle – they all knew their lord wanted to be the one to kill Harry Potter. Eventually their fight led them away from the main battle and towards the forest. Harry was beginning to tire; he had been fighting for hours now, while Voldemort had been conserving his strength.  
“Avada Kedavra!” Voldemort shouted. Harry attempted to jump out of the way, but he was so tired and the spell struck his shoulder. He fell to the forest floor.  
Harry woke up to find himself at a place both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. After a moment he stood up and looked around. The room looked very similar to Kings Cross. A shrill cry caused him to whirl around. There was some sort of creature in the corner of the station. It was neither human nor animal, but something in between.  
“Sad isn’t it?” A familiar voice asked. Harry turned once again and was face-to-face with Dumbledore.  
“Sir?” Harry asked. “What is it? Where am I? Am I dead?”  
“To answer your questions Harry, that is the soul of Lord Voldemort, you are at a version of Kings Cross station, and not quite.” Harry gave him a confused look. “Shall I elaborate?” Albus asked.  
“I would appreciate that sir.” Harry replied.  
“As you know, Voldemort created horcruxes to keep himself alive. What you do not know, as I died before I had the chance to inform you, is that you are one of those horcruxes. The night your parents died and you defeated Tom Riddle for the first time, when Voldemort died his soul found refuge in the only living creature in the room-you.”  
“But I don’t understand, what does that mean?” Harry asked.  
“When Voldemort cast the killing curse he inadvertently destroyed the horcrux inside of you. So now you have a choice. There is a train coming, and if you chose to board it, it will take you to the afterlife. You will be able to see your parents, your friends, Ginny.” Albus added. “If you chose to remain here, you will go back to your life, you will wake up in your own body. I know you have fought for so long, my dear boy. But I’m afraid I’m going to ask you to fight for a bit longer. Your friends are counting on you, and your parents will still be here waiting for you.”  
“I could go back and finish the fight? Defeat Voldemort?” Harry asked hopefully.  
“You certainly could try.” Albus informed him. At that moment a train pulled up to the station and Dumbledore climbed on board. “The decision is up to you.”  
Harry looked up at his old mentor and smile forlornly. “I’ll see you again.” He promised, stepping away from the train.  
“Not too soon I hope.” Dumbledore replied. “Until we meet again Mr. Potter.” Harry waved as the train left the station and felt himself being tugged back to the mortal realm.  
His entire body ached as he came back to consciousness. He kept his eyes closed and tried to focus on his surroundings. There was cool mud underneath him and some wisps of grass tickled his face. I must still be in the forest. He mused to himself. I wonder how much time has passed. He focused his attention on the voices around him, trying to formulate a plan that would get him out of this situation alive.  
“My lord, would you grant me the honor of checking to make sure he is dead?” A voice Harry didn’t recognize asked.  
“That won’t be necessary.” Voldemort replied. Harry felt himself sag in relief. “I know of a fun way to check, Crucio!”  
No! Harry thought to himself moments before the spell hit. The laughter and jeers of Death Eaters erupted around him. He tried his best to keep his limbs still and hold in the screams, but a small whimper of pain escaped his lips and immediately everyone around him fell silent. Harry wrenched his eyes open and desperately reached for his wand. But before he could grab it, Voldemort sent a spell flying towards him. The curse hit Harry square in the chest and he fell back onto the forest floor-dead.


	2. Loyalty

Daphne was in the middle of clotting a wound when she felt the necklace around her neck go cold. “No,” She breathed out despairingly. She looked around the room at the faces she knew so well and felt dread fill her stomach like lead. They need to leave. She thought to herself. “You all need to leave!” She shouted. Everyone turned to look at her. “Listen to me, you all need to leave right now if you want to live. As of right now, the war is over-we’ve lost.” She tried to explain.

  
“Daphne, what are you talking about?” Oliver asked her.

  
“Harry is dead. Don’t ask me how I know, just trust me, okay? We have lost the war, now all that matters is survival. Get to the nearest fireplace and floo out; get as far away from Britain as you can, preferably American or Australia. Go now!” She screamed when no one had made a move to leave. The room devolved into chaos as some people rushed for the doors as others tried to help the injured. Daphne’s heart was pounding in her chest and she felt as though her world were falling apart. Promise me. Harry’s voice filled her head and Daphne pushed past everyone and ran out the door. She ignored their pleas and questions, and instead focused on the task at hand. She had to get to the battle and find Ron and Hermione before Voldemort made the announcement that Harry was dead. She had to prove her loyalty to the Death Eaters before everyone knew Harry was dead; otherwise, it would look like she had only switched sides to save her life.

  
Daphne dashed onto the battlefield and into the chaos. As often as she could without blowing her cover, she warned every resistance fighter she could find and had them apparate or portkey away. She ran through the battle, trying to avoid getting into battle with Death Eaters and focused on finding Ron and Hermione. Moments later she stumbled across Viktor, he was fighting a Death Eater and quickly cut him down. “Viktor, where are Ron and Hermione?” Daphne yelled over the sound of spells and screams from battle.

  
“Over there.” He replied pointing to the west. “Daph, why are you out here fighting? What’s happened?”

  
Daphne turned sadly towards him. “Please get to safety, don’t follow me.” Without waiting to hear a reply she sprinted towards Ron and Hermione. She absentmindedly wiped a tear from her eye, knowing that was probably the last time she would see Viktor again. Moments later she saw a shock of red hair, without pausing to let her emotions catch up to her, Daphne pointed her wand at Ron and whispered “Avada Kedavra.”

  
Viktor had chased after Daphne and stopped in his tracks when he saw the green spell leave her wand and hit Ron in the back. He would die without ever knowing that he had been betrayed by one of their own. Daphne turned around and locked eyes with Viktor. Her eyes were filled with tears and she looked utterly broken. “Why?” Viktor asked softly. “Daphne, why? Were you on their side the entire time?”

  
Daphne opened her mouth to speak but ended up just shaking her head. “Harry-“ She cut herself off. “I’m so sorry, Viktor, I promise I’m still on your side. You have to trust me!” Before Viktor could reply they heard a scream of pain and loss. Daphne whirled around and saw Hermione kneeling beside Ron, her head bowed down. “Please, Viktor, please leave. I can’t….I can’t do what I have to if I know you’re here.”

  
Viktor gave Daphne a pained glance before apparating away. Daphne squared her shoulders and made her way over to Hermione. She knew that in order to use this to solidify her cover she could show no remorse, no hesitation, she simply had to act. Ron had been fortunate in his death; he hadn’t known it was Daphne who had killed him. Hermione would not be so lucky. Daphne gripped her wand tightly in her hand pointed it at Granger. Sensing her presence Hermione looked up at Daphne with tears in her eyes.

  
“What happened?” She asked softly.

  
Clamping down her emotions Daphne turned her face cold and spoke up. “I killed him.” She responded coolly. “And now, Granger, I’m going to kill you. Give my best to Potter, he’ll be joining you soon.” Before Hermione could even draw her wand to defend herself she was struck by the killing curse. Her body collapsed onto Ron’s. Fighting back the wave of nausea that threatened to overcome her she turned away from the bodies of her two friends and came face to face with Lucius Malfoy.

  
“Well, well, well,” he began. “I have to say I never expected this turn of events, Daphne Greengrass, a true Slytherin after all. Won’t the Dark Lord be pleased.”

  
“As if I would actually choose to side with the mudbloods.” Daphne replied, holstering her wand. “ Didn’t you eve wonder why I was never seen at any battle? It was because I was in the hospital pretending to tend to the wounded. In reality, I was culling the wounded wherever I could. In a war people are expected to die, no one bats an eye or looks too closely if a nurse loses a patient.” She explained. “It was a long con, but it paid off in the end. Neither of them even raised their wands against me. It was like fighting against muggles, pathetic really.” Daphne glanced around and saw that much of the fighting had ceased. Relief washed over her as she saw that many of the resistance had fled, they must have gotten her message. Faking ignorance she asked, “Where did they all go?”

  
“The news must have circulated by now,” Lucius replied. “Potter is dead.”

  
Daphne let a fake smile slide onto her face. “So we’ve finally won?” She questioned.

  
“It would appear so. Let’s go round up those foolish enough to have stayed behind.” All Daphne wanted to do was hide by herself in a corner and mourn the friends she had lost, but she nodded and followed Malfoy. As they made their way back to the large group of Death Eaters Daphne cast curses at those she considered friends. She attempted to make them look lethal while being relatively harmless. The better shape they were in when they were captured, the better chance they had of escaping with Daphne’s help. The only problem was making them trust her once the news of what she had done spread.

  
Daphne and Lucius finally made their way to Voldemort, and Daphne had to fight back the urge to attack him where he stood. “Malfoy, what is the meaning of bringing this traitor to me?” Voldemort asked, turning to look at Daphne.

  
Daphne threw up her occlumency shields and fell to her knees. “My Lord, I have never strayed from your path.” Daphne attempted to explain. “I knew Potter did not fully trust Snape, as proven tonight when he was fed false information about his plans. Being a Slytherin I had to carefully build his trust, and I was watched carefully. Therefore I was unable to explain my plan to anyone, but rest assured I have been working behind the scenes to weaken the resistance for years.” Daphne looked up, hoping that Voldemort would accept her explanation.

  
“Explain,” Voldermort told her. “I am feeling gracious.”

  
“Thank you, my lord.” Daphne kneeled before continuing. “For years now I have been gaining Potter’s trust, working my way into his inner circle. I worked as a healer, but I did my best to make sure that most of my patients died. In a war people expect death and I always made sure it looked like I had tried my best to save them. I knew that this battle would end in our victory so I left the hospital and joined the fight on the battlefield. I killed the mudblood Granger and blood traitor Weasley shortly before the battle ended. Lucius saw and informed me of Potter’s death. And may I offer my congratulations, My Lord. I hope the boy died screaming.” Daphne fought down the bile that bubbled to the front of her throat.

  
“Lucius, is this true?” Voldemort asked.

  
“Yes my lord.” Lucius bowed down. “I witnessed her kill Weasley without batting an eye and saw her torment Granger before she killed her as well.”

  
A smile graced Voldemort’s face as he motioned for Daphne to stand up. “I am glad to hear that you have been loyal to our worthy cause. With the mudblood and traitor dead there is no hope for the resistance. Those who are still alive will flee and scatter to the wind. No one else remains to oppose us.” Voldemort opened his arms in an invitation and Daphne walked slowly towards him and tried to keep her body from betraying her feelings if disgust as Voldemort hugged her. “Welcome home Greengrass.” He told her.

 

“Thank you, my lord,” Daphne replied. “I will be honored to serve at your side.”

  
“I am sure we will be able to find a place for you in our service.” Voldemort grinned at her. “But for now we will collect the prisoners and kill those who still resist.” Daphne looked around the battlefield and saw that the only people still remaining her those who were injured and unable to apparate or those who were unconscious.

  
Daphne let a maniacal grin spread across her face. “It would be a pleasure.”

 

Daphne collapsed onto her bed and tried to shut out the memories that threatened to overwhelm her. It had been three months since the end of the final battle and she had finally managed to gain Voldemort’s trust enough to set her plan into motion. Gaining his trust had not been easy and she had been forced to torture and mock her classmates and friends without betraying how she felt. Their looks of betrayal hurt more than any of the injuries she had received over the course of the war. Daphne wanted nothing more than to curl up into a ball and fall asleep, but she forced herself to her feet and walked over to her trunk. She unlocked the main compartment and felt around inside until she found the latch to the secret compartment. She reached in and pulled out a small vial filled with a reddish-brown potion. She slipped it into her front pocket and grabbed her wand before heading out the door.

  
Daphne made her way down into the dungeon where the prisoners were kept. Fortunately for her plan, Voldemort liked to have a mock trial for every prisoner, so most of the people they had captured were still alive. When she reached the dungeon door she stared down the guard before he let her in. Over the past few months, Daphne had carefully constructed her reputation and everyone knew not to question her. She was as cruel as Bellatrix but in a more calculated manner, she would not hesitate to torture you if you wronged her and she would use her knowledge about you to make it as painful as possible. Bellatrix just cast crucios, Daphne broke those who disrespected her. It was one of the reasons Voldemort liked her so much and the reason Daphne hated herself so much. Pushing these thoughts from her mind she made her way down the stairs and prepared herself to meet her classmates. She did not have long and she was worried they wouldn’t believe her. When she rounded the corner and saw the cells that contained her friends she wanted to turn and run away. Run away from this awful double life and just try to find where Viktor had fled to. Try to forget all the shit she had been forced to do. But if she allowed herself to do that, the past three months would have been in vain, and she had to make up for her actions.

  
When she became visible to those in the cells all of their gazes locked on her and Daphne could feel how much they hated her. “You have some guts coming down here, traitor.” Neville spat at her. His voice was weak but filled with hatred. She hardly recognized him. He was pale and thin. All traces of the baby fat he had sported for years were gone. His face was gaunt and his eyes looked haunted, he was filthy, covered in blood and grime and his clothing was in tatters. Daphne felt tears threaten to spill down her face, but pushed them back. She had to stay on schedule.

  
“I know you all hate me.” She spoke softly, her voice catching in her throat. “And you have every reason to, but it’s not what you think.”

  
“I supposed you’re going to try to convince us that it’s all part of some grand plan you and Harry came up with. Were you sent down here to raise up our hopes only to crush them again? Haven’t you all tortured as enough? Just shut up and kill us already!” A voice shouted from the shadows, Daphne couldn’t make out whom it was.

  
“You have the first part right,” Daphne explained. “Listen I don’t have a lot of time if I’m down here too long people will get suspicious. Harry and I knew that the chances of us winning were slim, so we made a contingency plan. That’s the reason I always stayed in the hospital wing and made sure no Death Eater ever saw me. I convinced Voldemort that I was on his side and I’ve spent the past few months slowly gaining his trust so I could come down here with you unaccompanied. When a prisoner dies their bodies are dumped in a mass grave about a mile from here. The graves are never checked and nobody count is made. We’re going to fake your deaths, a few at a time and get you transported to the grave. This potion,” Daphne took the vial from her pocket and showed it to everyone “will make it appear as though your heart has given out the next time you are tortured. It works the quickest with the cruciatus curse, but it should work anytime your body is subjected to intense pain. Once you’re transported to the mass grave someone will meet you there with a new wand and a portkey. Each portkey will take you to somewhere either in Australia or America. I won’t know the locations in case I’m found out. Once you get there you can not try to find any of your friends. Your old life is gone; it’s dead. Pick a new name, a new backstory, keep your head down and just try to live as long as you can.”

  
“So you want us to just run away? Not even try to fight against Voldemort?” Michael Corner shouted at her.

  
“Keep your fucking voice down.” Daphne admonished him. “And yes I do. Look, I would love to be here as a messenger of hope, but Harry is dead. He’s gone. Without him, we don’t stand a chance. I’m not going to risk my life to save you, only to have you turn around and throw your life away. Now listen, I’ll give the potion to two of you at a time so as to not raise suspicion. After the first two ‘die’ I’ll wait a random amount of time before administering the potion to the next pair. I’ll do this as long as I can, but I don’t know how long it will be before I’m found out. If it’s been seven weeks and you haven’t heard from me, assume the worst. If you want to try and escape after that be my guest. I’ll try to smuggle you a blueprint of the grounds sometime. I promise you all I will help you escape until it kills me.” Daphne waited for a response, praying that they believed her. She wasn’t sure what she would do if they didn’t. There was no way she could prove her loyalty to them without risking her cover. And if her cover were blown she would be of absolutely no use to them. She just had to hope that they would trust her.

  
Neville looked around the prison at his friends and comrades. They were all discouraged and lost. Each one of them had been tortured at least half a dozen times. They had all talked about escape but no plan they had was feasible. As much as he hated to admit it, Daphne was their only hope. He just prayed she was telling the truth. If they put their faith in her and she betrayed them, it would break them. “Just tell us one thing.” He finally spoke up. “How did you gain Voldemort’s trust? I mean before now. How did you prevent him from killing you the moment you went up to him?”

  
Daphne faltered and she felt as though she couldn’t breathe. Her mind flashed back to killing Ron and Hermione, murdering two of her best friends in cold blood. “Please don’t ask me that.” She whispered. “Please don’t.” She looked around the room as her eyes filled with tears. “I didn’t want this. But I was the only one Harry thought could handle this. But please don’t make me tell you, you’ll never forgive me.”

  
“Okay,” Neville responded after a moment. “I believe you. Get the muggle-borns out first, they’ll be the first to die, then half-bloods, then purebloods.”  
Daphne nodded and quickly pulled herself together. “Who’s first? We have to move quickly, I’ve already been down here too long.”

  
The prisoners consulted amongst themselves and eventually pushed two muggle-borns forward. Daphne recognized them from the resistance; they were two of the youngest members, Jane Goodman and Rachel Penndel.

  
“Okay, just take a small sip of this potion, it should stay in your system for close to 48 hours. Ideally, the potion will be activated within 24 hours so that we have a daylong window for transporting and in case anything gets delayed. If you wake up before you’re in a mass grave, fake dead. If you get caught we’re all screwed.” Daphne passed the girls the small vial through the cell bars. The two girls made faces as they swallowed the potion but made no complaint and simply handed the vial back to Daphne. “I’m sorry I can’t do more.” Daphne said softly. She turned and left before anyone could answer. As she neared the exit Daphne allowed her mask to slip back into place. She passed the guard without a glance and headed back to her room.

  
Now that the first stage of her plan was complete she had to begin stage two. If those two girls didn’t get tortured within 24-48 hours of now, she would have to sneak down and administer them the potion again. It would look odd if she visited the prisoners again so soon so she would have to wait. Her entire operation would be set back weeks. That would be unacceptable. Looking longingly at her bed Daphne placed a candle at her right window as a signal and went to go find Bellatrix. Bellatrix was easy to rile up and would be sure to crucio anyone who had insulted her. Daphne would have to think of other ways to ensure the specific people chosen were tortured in the future, but for now, she would give Bellatrix a little nudge in their direction.

  
Bellatrix and Daphne had somewhat of a competitive relationship, or rather Bellatrix saw it as a competitive relationship. As Daphne had quickly risen through the ranks earning Voldemort’s attention, Bellatrix had felt replaced and threatened, and that made her angry. Daphne couldn’t imagine how Bellatrix would react if she found out the truth, whether she would be relieved or furious. Daphne found Bellatrix in one of the many entertainment rooms in the manor they were staying at. Daphne wasn’t really sure whose it was, whether it belonged to a follower of Voldemort or if it belonged to a now dead enemy. The entertainment rooms had been twisted into something used for a much darker sense if entertainment. Muggles were brought in and tortured for the amusement of Voldemort and his favorites. It was an honor to be allowed the use of one of the rooms. Bellatrix was almost always using one of them. Tonight was no different; she was taunting and torturing a young looking muggle woman who could be no older than perhaps 27 years old.

  
“Practicing your trade I see Bellatrix.” Daphne spoke up. Bellatrix stopped what she was doing and turned to face Daphne. “That’s a good idea because from what I hear from the prisoners, you could use some practice. Having trouble performing, are you?”

  
Bella sneered at her. “What are you talking about Greengrass?” she asked. “I torture better than anyone, it’s why I’m master’s favorite!”

  
“Are you? Because, if I remember correctly, I was the one granted the honor of sitting at his right hand during our last meeting. Maybe he’s noticed that you’re not performing at your best.”

  
“Who told you this? Who dared to suggest such a thing?”

  
“Oh, just a couple of the prisoners. I went down to gloat at them earlier this evening and they mentioned preferring getting tortured by you because it didn’t hurt as much. I just thought you might want to know. Have you lost your nerve?”

  
Bellatrix lunged across the room at Daphne and held her wand to Daphne’s throat. “Tell. Me. Who.” She hissed in Daphne’s ear. “Or I promise you, sweetheart, I’ll show you how wrong those filths are.”

  
Daphne carefully pushed Bellatrix away from her before answering. “My dear Bella, all you had to do was ask. Two mudbloods, Goodman and Penndel. I’m sure you’ll rectify the situation. Have a good night, Bellatrix.” Daphne turned and left the room, wishing that she could save that poor muggle woman, but knowing she had to stay on task. This time when she reached her room she collapsed onto her bed and fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'll try to post the next chapter later this week, but it might be shorter than usual, I'm starting a new job on Wednesday. Please feel free to leave kudos or comments!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I'm going to be honest, I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update this, I'm starting a new job in 2 weeks and I'm also working on my novel. But I'll try to post as often as possible! I've got the first few chapters already written so should be able to post those with some regularity. Feel free to leave kudos or comments!


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